BA_Harrison
An early attempt by Amicus at a Hammer style horror movie, The Skull opens in wonderful Gothic mode with a night-time grave robbing scene, complete with unkempt, windblown cemetery, creaky metal gate, random owl hoots and a howling dog (the foley artist really went to town on this one). The desecrated grave in question turns out to be that of the infamous Marquis De Sade, the reason for the illicit exhumation being the retrieval of his skull, which is apparently host to an ancient demon called Baalberith, who drives men to commit blasphemy and murder.Unfortunately, the enjoyably excessive Gothic atmosphere of the film's opening scene is virtually abandoned when, many years later, said skull falls into the hands of obsessive antiques collector Dr. Christopher Maitland (Peter Cushing), who becomes possessed by the demon and proceeds to do its evil bidding. Apart from director Freddie Francis's (over)use of unusual POV shots and a couple of cool floating skull shots, the film exhibits very little flair or innovation, lacks genuine thrills, features almost no graphic gruesomeness, and quickly becomes tiresome. The film's most interesting aspect—the involvement of a secret satanic society—goes absolutely nowhere (and seems to exist purely to pad out the weak story to feature length).It says a lot when my favourite scene in the whole film is Maitland playing snooker against fellow antiquities collector Sir Matthew Phillips (played by Christopher Lee): despite owning his own snooker room, Phillips seems to possess zero skill at the game, randomly hitting balls to no avail (although he does rack up some points on the score-board, the cheat!). Maitland is equally as inept. At least the film gave me a few giggles, I suppose.
utgard14
Peter Cushing plays a guy who researches demonology or devil-worship or some such. He manages to get his hands on the skull of the Marquis de Sade, despite warnings from the skull's previous owner (Christopher Lee) that it's cursed. Sure enough, the skull starts controlling Cushing and making him do evil things. It's been my experience that people never listen when you try to warn them about owning the skull of an 18th century sadist. After the success of Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, director Freddie Francis reunites with Cushing and Lee for this, Amicus' second horror movie. Francis makes the most of a rather flimsy story, crafting a nice little atmospheric horror film. Good score by Elisabeth Lutyens helps. It's not the best from Francis, Cushing, or Lee, but it is enjoyable and under-appreciated.
AaronCapenBanner
Freddie Francis directed this thriller that stars Peter Cushing as Dr. Maitland, a collector of unusual objects who comes into possession of the skull of the Marquis De Sade, a reputedly evil man with supernatural powers. His friend(played by Christopher Lee) tries to warn him about its evil, and to get rid of it, but he doesn't listen, and as a consequence, is plagued by nightmares, as people around him start dying, and the evil nature of the skull tries to influence and then destroy him... Good cast of course, which also includes Patrick Wymark and Michael Gough, with intriguing back story, but film becomes tedious and far-fetched, leading to an unsatisfying, downbeat end.
alistairc_2000
Based on a Robert Bloch story of the same name. I remember watching this as a kid and was blown away by it. It was so nasty and evil with nightmare vision. So when I noticed some topics on another board I thought this is the perfect time to watch this on DVD. How wrong I was as this Amicus classic is not available on DVD. Fortunately I knew this chap who loaned me a copy. This is an amicus production and stars the two horror great, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. The basic story is about a skull that i offered for sale as an antique curio. Lee warns Cushing not to take it as the skull belongs to that of the Marque de Sade. Lee says it made him do strange things and when it was stolen he was happy that it was away from him. Cushing decides that he needs it. Then the fun begins... This movie was made about 1965 and it is a classic.
AD
